THE CONFIDENCE TO COMPETE

By: Pease Baseball Professionals
11/11/26

For Urbana High School junior Matthew Rodrigues, the journey from self-doubt to self-belief has been built one swing, one adjustment, and one difficult day at a time.

PEASE BASEBALL PROFESSIONALS | PLAYER DEVELOPMENT FEATURES

There were games during Matthew Rodrigues’ freshman season at Urbana High School when he never made it onto the field.

No at-bats. No opportunities to make a play. Nothing to do but watch, wait and wonder when his chance might come.

For a young player trying to establish himself, those moments were difficult. The frustration was real. So was the uncertainty about where he stood.

But Rodrigues found a way to turn that frustration into something useful.

BEYOND THE RADAR GUN

by Pease Baseball Professionals
10/16/2026

From Middletown to McDaniel, Preston Yost is discovering that the most important part of becoming a better pitcher isn’t always about throwing harder. It’s about understanding himself.

PEASE BASEBALL PROFESSIONALS | PLAYER DEVELOPMENT FEATURES

There comes a point in a pitcher’s career when throwing harder isn’t necessarily the answer anymore.

The hitters get better. The strike zone seems to get smaller. Pitches that once generated empty swings start finding barrels. And the margin for error that existed throughout high school begins to disappear.

For Preston Yost, a former Middletown High School pitcher and now a right-hander at McDaniel College, that realization has become one of the defining lessons of his young collegiate career.